Monday, November 14, 2016

Tom Krattenmaker isn't a Christian. He doesn't believe in the concept of Jesus as the Son of God or that Jesus died for the sins of the world. He does, however, believe that Jesus is an important figure in history with much to say about how to live as people who solve more of the world's problems than create them.

In his newest book Confessions of a Secular Christ Follower, Krattenmaker shares his journey toward following some of the teachings of Jesus that focus on human flourishing and encourages readers to follow in the footsteps of Jesus' ministry. Krattenmaker does an excellent job of showing the relevance of Jesus to the problems of today's modern culture. Christians and non-Christians alike will find much to appreciate from this book. The only criticism I have of Krattenmaker's approach is that Jesus said a lot about himself as the Son of God coming to die for the sins of the world. If Jesus believed he was the Son of God and wasn't, then it's not likely that he should be considered a great teacher.

However, as someone who does believe in everything that Jesus said, I think Krattenmaker makes some important points about the relevance of Jesus' teaching to improving the way people live among one another in the world.